National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations

Our mission is to foster collaboration among the creative arts therapies associations, raising awareness, and advancing the creative arts therapies professions.

The National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations, Inc. (NCCATA), founded in 1979, is an alliance of membership associations dedicated to the advancement of the creative arts therapies professions.  ​

Creative Arts Therapists are credentialed human service professionals who use distinct arts-based methods and creative processes for the purpose of ameliorating illness and optimizing health and wellness. They provide therapeutic treatment across a wide variety of rehabilitative, medical, community, and educational settings. Examples of treatment outcomes include improving communication and expression and increasing physical, emotional, cognitive, and/or social functioning.

​The Coalition includes Art Therapy, Dance/Movement Therapy, Drama Therapy, Music Therapy, and Poetry Therapy. NCCATA is recognized by the US federal government as a tax-exempt 501c3. 

NCCATA Coalition Associations

The Coalition includes the American Art Therapy Association, the American Dance Therapy Association, the American Music Therapy Association, the North American Drama Therapy Association, and the National Association for Poetry Therapy.

All of the professions follow a Code of Professional Practice/Ethics, have a legally defensible scope of practice and standards, meet educational competencies through extensive academic coursework, require supervised clinical training, and have credentialing and evidence-based research.

Each Creative Arts Therapy is governed by a separate professional association with a unique scope of practice.

Learn more about NCCATA’s coalition members